BB Jam. What it could mean for RIM.

RIM shares rise after yesterday’s BlackBerry Jam
Posted by Eric Abent on September 26, 2012.

Yesterday, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins took the stage in San Jose to talk about some of the upcoming features in BlackBerry 10. Though RIM is taking its sweet time bringing BlackBerry 10 to market, Heins did have some good news to report, telling the audience that BlackBerry users have grown to 80 million, up from 78 million from previous quarter. In addition to delivering that glimmer of hope for the struggling company, Heins also showed off a handful of new features that will be present in BlackBerry 10, and that address seems to be sitting well with investors today.

RIM’s stock is trading up today, breaking the $7 mark earlier for a gain of about 7%. Of course, it fluctuated throughout the remainder of the day, resting at $7.00 even (6.06% gain) by the time the closing bell signaled the end of the regular trading day on Wall Street. That is definitely good news for RIM, which has been losing market share at a pretty steady rate ever since iOS and Android took over the smartphone scene.

RIM is counting on BlackBerry 10 to pull it out of this rut, with Heins saying yesterday that the new mobile OS has a shot at becoming a solid third behind iOS and Android. BlackBerry recently fell below 5% market share, which is a far cry from where it was at when BlackBerry mania was in full swing. In all, RIM’s stock has fallen 90% in value from its peak, which signals that some major changes need to happen before users leave the company behind entirely and it goes the way of the dinosaurs.

Make no mistake, BlackBerry 10 certainly looks like a solid OS, but the question on everyone’s mind is whether it will be a strong enough contender to bring RIM back from the brink. We’ll find out the answer to that question soon enough, but for now, we’ll just let the executives at RIM revel in today’s victories. Check out or story timeline below for more posts on RIM and BlackBerry.

iPhone 5 vs 4 display comparison

How Much Better Is The iPhone 5′s Display Vs. The iPhone 4? This Pic Says It All
Published on September 26, 2012
Written by: John Brownlee
Prev


In a single magnified image, photographer and Retinal neuroscience Bryan Jones perfectly captures the incredible increase in display quality from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5.

Jones put the iPhone 5 display under a stereomicroscope and photographed the pixels of the display with a Canon 1D MKIII, then compared the photo one made under the same conditions of the iPhone 4′s display.

The difference is incredibly obvious even to an untrained eye. Yeah, sure, they’re both Retina displays… but the pixels of one of them look murky and blurred, while the pixels on the other look like bright, colorful Christmas lights photographed in a vacuum. Incredible.

Source: Jonesblog
Via: iSmashphone

Price to earnings. Most watched, least understood. Is it important?

Ask a Fool: What is the P/E Ratio?
Austin Smith - September 24, 2012


In the spirit of better investing, and in celebration of the first annual Worldwide Invest Better Day (WWIBD) coming up on September 25, Motley Fool analysts will be answering user- and reader-submitted questions leading up to the big event. "Ask a Fool" anything, and we'll do our best to help you invest better.

The P/E ratio, or price-to-earnings ratio, is one of the most watched and also most misunderstood metrics out there for investors. In the following video, Fool.com analyst Austin Smith explains the ins and outs of calculating and interpreting a P/E ratio. First, our Foolish analyst considers that the median stock in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has historically had a P/E ratio of about 15. He then zeros in on a few companies' current ratios for closer examination. Watch the video below to learn more.



Click the green button below to join the thousands of people celebrating Worldwide Invest Better Day on September 25!

Cisco acquires ThinkSmart Technologies.

by LEENA RAO posted 1 Hour Ago

Cisco has made an interesting acquisition today, announcing the purchase of ThinkSmart Technologies, a company that delivers location data analysis using Wi-Fi technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ThinkSmart’s technology enhances a wireless network infrastructure with location analytics for service provider and enterprise customers. The startup’s location analytics collects information on movement within a venue including time of day, traffic patterns and dwell times. Cisco says that this information then allows enterprises and venue operators improve the customer experience by identifying appropriate staffing levels, reducing wait times, optimizing business processes, and improving customer flows.

Thus also seems like a talent acquisition for Cisco as well. The ThinkSmart team has doctorate degrees with expertise in computer science, mathematics, data mining, clustering, pattern recognition, optimization, and complex event processing. ThinkSmart was initially incubated at Ireland’s University College Cork (UCC).

Cisco says that with consumers using more mobile devices, ThinkSmart’s network and Wi-Fi location analytics capabilities can help the customer Wi-Fi experience in public venues such as retail locations, hotels and airports
ThinkSmart will join Cisco’s Wireless Networking Group and will be integrated into the Cisco Mobility Services Engine.
TIMELINE
09/26/12

BB 10 Bluetooth file transfers...

HomeBlackBerry NewsNews & Rumors

Hands-on demo of Bluetooth file transfers on BlackBerry 10
by Bla1ze on 25 Sep 2012 11:10 PM

While checking out the BlackBerry Dev Alpha B today, I wanted to see some sample camera and video shots. With no direct way to offload the files, I decided to test out the Bluetooth functionality and found some small but awesome touches built into that scenario.

As shown on the video above, when BlackBerry 10 is released your Bluetooth file transfers will take on some rather elegant notifications to keep you in the loop as to what is happening.

Check it out for yourself

Ready for Windows 8? Intel suggests not quite yet.

Intel CEO Says Windows 8 is Not Fully Ready
7:10 PM - September 25, 2012


At a company meeting, Paul Otellini reportedly told employees that Windows 8 is released before it is "fully ready", according to an article published by Bloomberg. However, getting Windows 8 ready now is the right decision and Microsoft can release updates afterwards to fix bugs.

It is not unusual that software ships with some bugs as many companies typically resort to an 80/20 strategy in which 80 percent is good enough and the remaining 20 percent too expensive to achieve. We should also remember that Microsoft also released Windows XP and Windows 7 in October to be able to make the Christmas season of sales. Vista was originally scheduled for an October 2006 release, but delayed to January 2007 due to critical bugs. Microsoft used "Express Upgrades" in October 2006 instead - and had to deal with a logistic disaster in early 2007. If Microsoft can avoid a delay for Windows 8, it will go to great lengths to do so, even if that means that Windows 8 will ship with some annoying bugs.

Of course, it is highly unusual that Otellini's remarks, if they were made in the reported way, are making it into the public. Windows 8 has already been criticized left and right and if Intel now suggests that the operating system still has bugs that need to be worked out, then more than just a few prospective computer buyers may decide to stick with Windows 7. That, of course, also means that Intel will be taking a hit in potential CPU sales as customers are delaying their purchases.

Surprise! Apple opts out of Google Maps a year early.

The Verge has the scoop from two anonymous sources about what really went down between Apple and Google over replacing the latter’s maps on iOS 6:

Apple’s decision to ship its own mapping system in the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 was made over a year before the company’s agreement to use Google Maps expired, according to two independent sources familiar with the matter. The decision, made sometime before Apple’s WWDC event in June, sent Google scrambling to develop an iOS Google Maps app — an app which both sources say is still incomplete and currently not scheduled to ship for several months.

According to the report, Apple abruptly decided to end the agreement with Google Maps as it was inferior to the version available on Android OS, as iOS did not have access to turn-by-turn directions. An earlier WSJ report noted Google wanted deeper branding and features within iOS, and did not agree with Apple’s renewal terms. Rumours of Google Maps being replaced were heard as far back as May of last year.

Just yesterday, Google Executive Chairman (and former Apple Board of Director) Eric Schmidt revealed there is no Google Maps for iOS in the making, and also relayed it was not their call when it came to Apple ditching Google Maps.

Apple Maps has come under scrutiny and criticism by iOS users for some of its inaccuracies and lack of transit routes. Apple is reportedly hiring ex-Google employees to work on iOS 6 maps, and also spoke out about Maps, saying it was only going to get better.

Back in June, we compared Google Maps to Apple Maps in iOS 6 and how it looked in Vancouver. How are you liking Apple Maps in iOS 6?

Update: The NYT is reporting Google is working on an iOS map version to be released by the end of the year. The app should come with 3D imagery like Apple Maps, and will take those images from the existing Google Earth app. The report also corroborates the story above, where two similar sources spoke to the The Verge.

Google is developing a maps application for iPhone and iPad that it is seeking to finish by the end of the year, according to people involved with the effort who declined to be named because of the nature of their work.